Relapses
by Lifeislikeagrapefruit
Summary: Emma makes it safely back from the Wish Realm, thanks to Regina. However, Emma occasionally relapses into the terrified notasavior!Emma. This series covers all those relapses and how everyone reacts to them. Each chapter has a different character she relapses on.


Killian paused, just in front of Emma's closed bedroom door. He could hear a faint noise coming from the other side. As he leaned in closer to the door, the noise became clearer. Killian smiled to himself as he realized what it was. Emma was in her room, humming a song to herself. The thought that she was finally relaxed enough to actually hum faintly pleased the pirate. "Emma works herself too hard". He thought. "It's good that she's finally managing to get some rest."

Still smiling, Killian gently tapped on the door with the back of his hook to signify his entering, then turned the knob to let himself in. What he saw surprised him. Emma was dancing, swaying slowly side to side, elegantly sliding her feet across the hardwood floor. She was still humming, some light tune that Killian had never heard. She did not react when he shut the door quietly behind him.

"I didn't know you danced, Swan," He commented casually after watching for a moment. Immediately, Emma stopped her song. She whirled around to face him. Killian was completely taken aback, for there was a look in Emma's eyes that he had hardly ever seen in them before. Fear.

"I'm sorry Emma; I thought you'd heard me come in," He thought she was simply having an adverse reaction to his coming upon her unawares, and he tried to shrug it off, not wanting to embarrass her for her unprecedented fear. Emma's next words, however, shocked Killian in a way no words ever had before.

"W-who are you? How did you get in here?" She covered away, her hand clasping the folds of a dress that wasn't there, her mind in a completely different world.

Confused and rather startled, Killian ceased his leaning, stood up straight and replied. "It's me love, Killian. I came in through the door. Are you alright?" As he said this, he took a concerned step toward the obviously terrified Emma and held out his hand in a worried gesture of comfort. She flinched back from his outstretched hand, and he withdrew it quickly.

"Guards! Guards! Help me!" Emma cried, her voice high and fearful, and so unlike her.

"What's wrong, Swan? Talk to me love, tell me what's wrong," Killian implored.

Emma cringed, and backed further away, until she had run into the dresser, when she could move no more. "Where are my guards? What have you done to them?" Her voice quivered.

She sank slowly to the ground, her back firmly pressed against the dresser, her knees tucked into her chest. Killian followed her down so they were still at eye level. He sat on his knees on the floor. Slowly, like one would hold out a hand to a frightened animal, he held out his hand once more, imploring her to remember.

"Swan, you don't have guards. It's not real. Look at me Emma, snap out of it. It's me, Killian! Please, Emma, you know me."

She did look, she raised up her eyes from their position on the floor where they had been fearfully fixed since the moment she deemed the pirate a threat. This brief glance did more harm than good, however, for she sighted his previously unnoticed hook, and recognized him.

"Y-y-you're C-captain Hook!" Emma stuttered. Tears began to slowly roll down her face.  
"M-my parents b-banished you, you c-can't be here! Unless..." She broke off into sobbing and shied even further from his hand.

"Unless what, love?" Killian cautiously encouraged. That was a mistake.

"Unless you-you killed them!" This strange sobbing being with Emma's face produced tears anew, and wept loudly, mourning her imagined parents.

"No, Emma, of course not! This isn't real; you're imagining all of this, just look at me! Please! Swan, I would never hurt your parents, or you, or Henry," But Emma heard only what she could in this altered state.

"Nooooo..." Emma moaned softly. "Not Henry too, please no." She suddenly threw herself face down in front of him, her arms stretched out above her head in a clear sign of submission. "Please sir, I beg you, I'll give you anything you want, just don't hurt anyone else. I surrender."

Killian stared in disbelief at Emma, his brave, strong Emma, lying prostrate on the ground before a perceived enemy, surrendering, of all things.

"Emma, no, I don't want your surrender, please, just listen to me!" Killian implored

"I don't understand." Emma sobbed "Why can't you just accept my surrender or go away. What more do you want from me?" she begged hopelessly  
"You've taken m-my parents, H-henry, E-everything. N-now what?"

"Swan, Your parents and Henry aren't dead! Look, I'll prove it to you!" Hook hurriedly reached into his pocket for his talking device. He pulled it out and Emma flinched away again, thinking it was a weapon. Killian pressed the "David" button and held it up to his ear.

"Come on, come on," Killian mumbled urgently as his Swan cried in the corner in front of him.

"Hello?" David's voice came in through the phone.

"David, thank the gods. It's Killian."

"What's wrong Killian? You sound worried."

"There's something wrong with Emma, mate. She's acting strangely. She... She doesn't recognize me and frankly she's scared out of her mind. She thinks I've killed you two and Henry."

"Put me on. I'll be over right away." David commanded.

Hook held out the phone to Emma. "Emma love, it's your father."

She just stared at it in terror and confusion. "H-how did you get him in that little box? What have you d-done to them?"

"Nothing, Emma, I swear. Just hold it up to your ear, like a seashell at the ocean, alright?"  
Killian spoke to her like one would to a small child. Slowly, soothing, encouraging. Admittedly, he was panicking quite a bit himself. What if Emma never recovered? What if she was going to be terrified of him for the rest of his life?

But she took the phone and gingerly held it up to her ear.  
"D-daddy?"

"Hey sweetheart." David said softly. As soon as he heard his daughter's voice, the full realization that something was actually, seriously wrong here hit him. Emma never called him Daddy. And Emma would hardly ever let anyone hear or see it when she was afraid. But, realizing the fragility of the situation, Prince Charming played it cool. "What's wrong?"

"Daddy! Oh, Daddy, thank goodness. What happened to you? How did you get in there? Is Mommy there? And Henry? Oh Daddy you've got to help me there's a dirty awful pirate in my room" End paused to take in a shaking breath "And-and I don't know how he got here but I-I thought you were-were d-d-dead." Emma broke off into sobs.

Hook was still kneeling in the ground in front of her. A pained look crossed his face as he heard his Swan call him a dirty awful pirate. Killian slowly stood and paced to the door. He opened it, then paused and turned to the weeping creature on the floor.

"Emma..." He started, but the look she gave him was still one of pure terror, despite David on the other end of the line trying his damnedest to convince her that the pirate was a friend. Killian stopped. He stared into her unrecognizing eyes for several long moments, then he lowered his head, clenched his jaw, and closed the door behind him.

Killian met David and Mary Margaret just as they were getting out of their car.

"She's in her room." Killian told them. His voice was low, dull, and lifeless even. His head was tipped downward, and his dark eyes glanced up to his friends. Snow gave him a nod of thanks before hurrying past him into the house. David stopped in front of Killian.

"I'm sorry, Killian. I heard what she said. How are you holding up so far?" David's eyes flicked anxiously up to the window where he knew his daughter was waiting.

"I'm fine, mate." Killian gruffly answered. "I know she meant none of it. She- She isn't herself. Don't worry about me."

David gave him a "good luck" look and clapped him firmly on the shoulder.

"Now go. See to Emma." Killian said. David patted his shoulder comfortingly and moved past the pirate to find his terrified daughter.

Killian stood there long after David had disappeared into the house, standing, thinking. The way his Swan had looked at him, the way she had cowered in fear… well, it was the stuff his nightmares were made of. To see the people he loved, fearful of him, looking at him and seeing only his terrible reputation. The images of the past half hour flashed in his mind, repeating over and over.

Finally, after some time had passed, Killian moved. He turned his back on the house and just walked. He wasn't thinking about where he was going, only that he needed to get away. Emma's terrified words had hurt him deeply, though he didn't outwardly show it.

Eventually the pirate ended up at the docks. An empty bench stood overlooking the water, so he seated himself in it. For a long time he sat, staring, clenching and unclenching his fist, sipping rum from his flask and telling himself over and over again that it wasn't really her, as well as praying that Emma would be back to herself again.

Back at the house, Charming and Snow were doing their best to comfort their tearful daughter. Emma clung to them like she would never let go.

"It's like what Regina told us about, in the Wish Realm!" Snow whispered to her husband over Emma's head. "This is what Emma would have been like if she wasn't the savior!"

"I hope this isn't permanent." David whispered cynically back.

They held her for a while longer as she sobbed, their hands running through her long yellow hair, before David's wish came true.

All three of them were sitting tangled on the floor. Emma was between her parents with her head in Snow's lap, Charming and Mary Margaret were holding hands, and they were all sharing comfort. Suddenly, Emma's crying stopped and a sharp gasp fell from her lips.

"Wha-what the hell just happened?" She jumped up and stood there staring at her parents who looked terribly startled at her unexpected outburst.

Snow recovered first. "Emma!" she joyously shouted. "You're back!"

"What? Where was… I… Oh no… Killian." Emma's face drained of color as her memory of her lost time suddenly returned.

"Thanks mom and dad I'm sorry I have to go find Killian." She said, already halfway out the door.

They watched her go with peaceful expressions on their face.

"Well. Thank goodness that's over." David commented.

"Do you suppose it'll happen again?" Snow asked worriedly.

"I don't know." He admitted. "But if it does, I hope it isn't around Hook again. The poor guy took it hard."

"Killian!" Emma yelled as she ran down the docks. "Killian!"

Killian was sitting on the bench, still staring, when he heard his name being called. He slowly looked up. When he saw who the voice belonged to, he stood and began moving toward her. She saw him and ran even faster. Feeling unsure, he took a hesitant step forward, but when he saw her expression as she quickened her pace, he realized that this was his Emma, not that weeping imposter. He began to run too, and they met with a crash and an embrace

"Killian, I'm so sorry, I don't know what came over me. I didn't mean any of it, I swear. Can you forgive me?" Emma

"Emma, love, of course, there's no need to ask." Hook closed his eyes and let the relief wash over him. Emma, his Emma was back. She wouldn't hate him forever, despite his insecurities and fears.

"Oh thank goodness." She chuckled weakly. "That was embarrassing."

"It was, a bit." Killian laughed, partly of relief at having her back, partly because she was laughing too.

They stayed like that, firmly in each others embrace, while time slipped around them. Only once it got dark did they finally head back home, strolling down the silent streets, hand in hand, at peace.

 **A/N**

 **Well, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of Relapses. Leave a review telling me which character I should write Emma going notasavior! on, and I'll write it as the next chapter. Thank you for reading!**

 **-Lifeislikeagrapefruit**


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